Staal’s rejection of an extension — the day before his wedding — only added to the surreal quality of a hot and steamy day in which hockey’s top prospects paraded around in a riverboat before taking batting practice with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

News conferences popped up all over the Iron City’s downtown core the day before the draft as teams tried to position themselves for Friday’s first round and set fan expectations.

JORDAN STAAL

His name goes to the top of the list of names to be bandied about in trade speculation. Rumblings are the 23-year-old wants out of Pittsburgh where he plays in the shadow of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Some say, he wants to play with his brother, Eric, in Carolina. Some believe he’d be the perfect No. 1 centre for the Leafs.

A trade for Jordan Staal would be “complicated and risky,” said a source. He’s got one year left at $4 million (all figures U.S.) and will be an unrestricted free agent at age 24 in 2013. The Penguins would demand a ton (think Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri, Leaf fans) of NHL-ready, cheap talent — and the team getting him might only get him for a year.

MAPLE LEAFS

Toronto holds No. 5 and No. 35 overall, but has only six picks in the seven rounds and none in rounds three or four. The Leafs would like to add a few picks in Saturday’s middle rounds, and may deal a few Marlies to get them, said assistant GM Dave Nonis. But they seem happy with No. 5 overall. Unless they aren’t.

“There’s no reason for us to move up or down,” Nonis said. “If we could move up at a reasonable price, it would be something to consider. But we think we’ll get a pretty good player at 5.

“You never want to leave too much talent on the table. All things being equal, would we take a forward, a centre, that’s a pretty good assumption. We’re going to take the best player available to us.”

Nonis said there’s as much interest in the Leafs’ second-round pick – 35th overall – as in No. 5 because of the depth of the draft.

OILERS

GM Steve Tambellini says the team will hold on to No. 1 overall, but he wouldn’t tip his hand as to which player he would select. Sarnia Sting centre Nail Yakupov is touted as the consensus No. 1, but the Oilers have a glut of skilled forwards and may lean toward a defenceman.

BLUE JACKETS

They have the No. 2 pick and probably don’t want a Russian (see Zherdev, Nikolai and Filatov, Nikita for reasons why). They might move down in the draft. Of more interest is what they plan to do with Nash, the 28-year-old captain whose desire to leave was foiled by a high asking price at the trade deadline. Jackets GM Scott Howson met with Nash’s agent, Joe Resnick. “It was a good meeting, lasted almost an hour and we exchanged a lot of ideas,” Howson said. “A lot of things can happen between now and when the draft is over. I’m not counting on anything. Obviously our goal is to do what’s best for our hockey club and that’s how we’ll keep operating.”

CANADIENS

No. 3 overall. Marc Bergevin presides over his first draft as GM, reminding everyone when he was with the Blackhawks, they selected a future captain (Jonathan Toews) with No. 3 overall six years ago. Habs are happy there. For a hint at who they’re after:

“You win championships with skill. You need size, too, don’t get me wrong. You need everything. But if you don’t have skill it’s hard to win the big prize. Skill wins,” said Bergevin.

WHO IS ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS?

Explosive Russian right wing Nail Yakupov is considered the best player available in the NHL draft Friday and Saturday in Pittsburgh, and Canadian Ryan Murray is viewed as the top-ranked defenceman. Russian Andrei Vasilevski gets the nod as the best available goalie.

But if there is a player in the draft who seems like the most intriguing pick, it might be Latvian Zemgus Girgensons, who plays for Dubuque (Iowa) of the United States Hockey League.

“If there are 15 better players than him in this draft, then this draft has to be one of the best drafts we’ve had in a long time,” said Dubuque coach Jim Montgomery, a former NHL player.

Girgensons is 18th on NHL Central Scouting’s combined ratings of North American forwards and defensemen. Most scouts seem to have him rated in the middle of the first round. Montgomery thinks he should go higher.

“I haven’t seen anyone with the kind of work ethic that (Girgensons) shows in practice and in the weight room since I was around Rod Brind’Amour (playing in the NHL),” Montgomery said.

Former Calgary Flames general manager Craig Button, a draft analyst, says Girgensons is in play starting with the Toronto Maple Leafs picking at No. 5.

“What (Toronto GM) Brian Burke always says is that he wants players with equal parts of testosterone, truculence and belligerence,” Button said. “When he says that, he could be talking about Zemgus Girgensons.”

Girgensons, at 6-2, 200 pounds, is a two-way centre with grit, plus he has an understanding of how the game should be played. Montgomery said Girgensons came to North America from Latvia to play because he wanted to play the North American physical style of hockey.

“You would think he is from Flin Flon (Manitoba) or Moose Jaw (Saskatchewan) by the way he plays,” Montgomery said.

Button said Girgensons’ commitment to playing an all-around intense game reminded him of St. Louis Blues captain David Backes.

“He could score 30 goals in the league,” Button said. “But he may also help you win by winning a faceoff, making a defensive play or making a hit.”

The fact that several NHL teams are looking to add depth at centre also bolsters Girgensons’ chances of going higher than his ranking.

“He’s a young man who will represent his organization the right way every day in every facet of his life,” Montgomery said. “He doesn’t need to play 20 minutes to help you win. He can play 10 minutes and help you win.”

A week ago it seemed like Yakupov and Murray would go No. 1 and No. 2 to the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively, but this week the rumour has been that the Blue Jackets are considering taking Milwaukee native Alex Galchenyuk, a centre, at No. 2. His father, Alexander, played for Moscow Dynamo in the Russian Elite League in the 1980s and then played for Milwaukee of the International Hockey League.

Once Galchenyuk is selected, Girgensons is in contention to be the next centre chosen, although Mikhail Grigorenko (third) from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Radek Faksa (seventh) from the Ontario Hockey League are ranked higher by Central Scouting.

The only question scouts have is whether Girgensons will score enough to play among the top six forwards at the NHL level.

“He will do whatever it takes to win, and he does that at such a high level that his skill level gets underrated,” Montgomery said. “People just think he’s a hard worker, but his skill level is at the level of a top prospect.”

Girgensons registered 24 goals and 55 points in 49 games this season with Dubuque.

Added Button: “I think his skill level is underrated. What I say is that he is flying just a little under the radar.”

With files from Star Wire services

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